He was homeless in L.A. Now, he's accused of hurling racist slurs at a 'Today' host

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Set us as preferred Andrew Truelove became national news last week after he allegedly breached security at Rockefeller Center and hurled a racist slur at NBC “Today” show co-host Craig Melvin.But his life had been unraveling long before then.At 41 years old, Truelove was unhoused.

He had spent the last two decades cycling in and out of the criminal justice system, locked up for crimes that included stealing signs memorializing young victims of the Sandy Hook massacre and grabbing a child outside a school.Truelove was the subject of an in-depth profile in The Times in 2023, capturing his life as a homeless person on the streets of Torrance as he tried to obtain housing, food stamps and healthcare.

Now, a picture is emerging of his path from Los Angeles to New York, where he is accused of hate crimes in an incident that unsettled “Today’” show staffers already reeling from the kidnapping of host Savannah Guthrie’s mother.Crisscrossing the country — from his hometown in Virginia to California, Florida and Maryland — Truelove moved between the streets, jails, homeless shelters and psychiatric facilities.

In recent months, he ventured underground, sleeping in New York City’s subway tunnels, according to his half-sister, who requested anonymity to speak freely about her younger brother.Truelove told her he preferred living in a subway tunnel to being on the street, because people didn’t bother him down there.He didn’t mind the rats.

“He’s very sick and very mentally ill,” his half-sister said, noting that he suffered from schizophrenia but refused to take his medication.Truelove was arraigned Friday on charges of burglary and menacing in the third degree as hate crimes.If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison.According to the criminal complaint, Truelove sneaked into a restricted area of ...